FROM THE SHA – The Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) will re-open the MD 272 (Mauldin Avenue) Bridge over the Amtrak Railway on Friday, May 1 mid-day, weather permitting. The bridge has been closed since March 24 and a detour established while crews repaired deteriorated bridge approaches.

“We are happy that SHA and the Town of North East worked diligently together to get the MD 272 Bridge open in a timely fashion,” said North East Mayor Robert F. McKnight. The existing MD 272 Bridge over Amtrak was built in 1954, has three-foot wide sidewalks and no shoulders. The new single-span bridge will include two travel lanes, five-foot wide shoulders and ADA compliant sidewalks. The bridge project also includes two retaining walls and a partial realignment of one-quarter mile along Mauldin Avenue. Crews will construct new five-foot wide concrete sidewalks on both sides of MD 272 and ADA compliant pedestrian ramps that will extend along MD 272 from the intersection with Main and Russell streets to the entrance of the North East Station Shopping Center. Construction of the entire project is expected to be complete late 2016. “We are pleased that all travel lanes on the bridge are re-opening and work can continue on replacing the 61 year-old structure,” said SHA District Engineer Greg Holsey. “We appreciate the patience of the motorists and residents during the closure and detour.”